Principals
approve draft constitution

The principals in the unity government have announced they have
reached agreement on the draft of the constitution presented to them by the
cabinet committee on Thursday, paving the way for some progress towards a
referendum.

The cabinet appointed committee had met twice on Wednesday and
ironed out the remaining contentious issues. The resulting solutions were
presented to the principals in Thursday’s meeting and they agreed to adopt
the new version.

“We are glad to say that we have now come to the
conclusion of the exercise and all parties are agreed. Sure there will be
some T’s to cross and I’s to dot but we are generally agreed and the
finalization of the draft has now been made,” Mugabe told
reporters.

He added that after the finalisation of the actual draft
constitution the principals would announce the way forward, including a date
for the referendum and a roadmap for elections.

Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai said: “We have reached a defining moment for the country. I am
sure that the people’s patience has been tested severely, that they have
legitimate expectations out of this process. I am glad to say this concludes
a long journey that we have travelled to arrive at this national
process.”

But according to Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric
Matinenga, this draft agreed to by the principals still has to be presented
to the standing committees of the political parties, ZANU PF’s politburo and
to the full COPAC parliamentary committee, before a final draft goes to a
referendum.

Matinenga insists this is just a formality, but there remain
concerns that ZANU PF will once again seize the opportunity and throw a
spanners into the works and demand further changes, as they did last year
after agreement had been reached by the negotiators.

Political
commentator Wilbert Mukori said ZANU PF will most likely cause further
delays, in order to minimize the amount of time left for other more
important reforms that were agreed to in the GPA.

Mukori said this
agreement by the principals weakens SADC’s position, because the regional
grouping can now be accused of blocking progress by the unity government if
they interfere with this process and demand more GPA reforms.

Zimbabwe’s
Vice President John Nkomo dies

Vice President John Landa Nkomo died on
Thursday morning, after years battling cancer.

Nkomo was 78 years old
and is Zimbabwe’s fourth vice president to die in office, after Joshua
Nkomo, Simon Muzenda and Joseph Msika – who passed away aged 82, 80 and 85
respectively.

President Robert Mugabe expressed his sorrow at the loss of
the Vice President, during a joint press conference on the new constitution
at State House.

The president said: “On behalf of cabinet, our
sincerest condolences to his family, to his dear old mother, to his
relatives and to all his friends. We are together with them.

“They
have lost a real revolutionary, a fighter for freedom, a friend of the
people.”

Nkomo was a founding member of nationalist leader Joshua
Nkomo’s ZAPU, before its merger with ZANU PF in 1987 following the
Gukurahundi massacres.

He held several portfolios as a cabinet minister
before being appointed one of Mugabe’s deputies in 2009, following the death
of Msika.

The United States embassy was the first to announce his death
in a condolence statement.

“Whether as a teacher, a politician, an
advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant, Vice President
Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and
prosperity.

“As a leader of PF Zapu and Zanu PF, Nkomo played an
important role in shaping the course of Zimbabwean history. May he rest in
peace,” the embassy statement read.

Initially there were conflicting
reports as to where the vice president was when he died, with some reports
saying he died in South Africa after treatment for cancer. But the president
revealed that his situation deteriorated on Wednesday and he was rushed to
St Anne’s Hospital in Harare where he passed away.

Some observers
have pointed out that it is unfortunate that senior government leaders are
still in office when they are old and ill, and die before they are able to
enjoy retirement.

Water Minister and a close family member, Sam Sipepa
Nkomo told SW Radio Africa: “I don’t know if it’s their policy that they
can’t rest from public office. I totally agree that this is what happened
before. The four vice presidents died in office. They were sick and I can
only assume that this is perhaps the policy of their party.”

But he
added that the family couldn’t really raise the issue of retirement with
John Nkomo because; “the state in which he was, you couldn’t raise anything
like that because you were afraid that you could hurt his feelings and
whether he retired or not in the end was making no difference. You could see
that the main was in pain.”

Observers say Nkomo’s death is likely to
renew the succession debate and the discussions around 88 year old Mugabe’s
health, as the country prepares for ‘make or break’ elections this year.

Govt
urged to stop land grabs to end hunger crisis

The government is once again facing an urgent appeal to once
and for all stop the ongoing illegal seizure of productive farm land across
the country, to bring an end to the worsening hunger
crisis.

Zimbabwe’s once prosperous agricultural sector is again unable to
feed the country, after years of chaos caused by the land grab campaign. On
Tuesday the United Nations (UN) announced that it needs at least US$131
million in aid for Zimbabwe this year, mainly to meet food assistance
demands. The UN said that at least 1.7 million people are facing hunger in
the coming year.

The government has repeatedly blamed the failed cropping
seasons on the weather, an excuse picked up by the UN on Tuesday.

But
Charles Taffs, the President of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), told SW
Radio Africa on Thursday that hunger has been brought about by “destructive
policies” that have destroyed the farming industry. He said “a line needs to
be drawn under the land question,” for normality to be returned to the
farming sector.

“There is zero confidence in the agriculture sector and
the bottom line is there are no property rights and have not been for more
than ten years. This has spilled over into a financial reality and we are
paying for it now,” Taffs said.

He explained that without property
rights there will be no meaningful investment in the agricultural sector,
and without this investment there can be no local production of
food.

“This is a sad and tragic situation that has not been brought about
by weather, but by policy. We need to finish it and draw a line under it and
bring confidence back to the agricultural sector,” Taffs said.

We
have a pragmatic solution to Zimbabwe’s economic problems:
CFU

The Zimbabwe Commercial
Farmers Union has told journalists at a press conference in Harare today,
that it has a fair and pragmatic proposal which if adopted by government
will pull Zimbabwe out of its current economic mess.

“We at the
CFU have over the past two years been working together with our many
partners in forming such a proposal and we now feel that we can offer a
proposal which offers a fair and pragmatic solution, which if engaged will
have the ability to take this country forward for the betterment of all,”
said CFU president, Charles Taffs.

Taffs said it is time Zimbabwe
changed direction since the country has over the past 13 years been left
behind in terms of technological infrastructure development and economic
growth.

“CFU invites government and others to engage with us as we offer
this proposal that we believe can be instrumental in bringing a lasting and
national beneficial outcome to the land reform process. Our proposal is
sincere and aimed at promoting an inclusive and sustainable social and
economic development and recovery.

“Our main agenda is to promote a
stable and competitive agricultural business environment and to provide
advice and support to farmers. We believe that this union and its members
can play a significant role in ensuring a bright future for the nation and
its people through the successful completion of the land reform programme,”
said Taffs.

He said CFU believes there is a way forward which can result
in significant improvement in national recovery and economic restoration to
the funding of the ongoing agricultural transformation in
Zimbabwe.

Taffs blamed what he described as the total nationalization and
acquisition of some 11.8 million hectares of commercial land which was
previously held under free hold title, for the end to secure property rights
and of investor confidence in all sectors of the
economy.

“Government’s inability and failure to pay compensation and
bring closure to the acquisition process has crippled the institutional
capacity to lend into this sector. National collateral has effectively been
undermined and all agricultural land in Zimbabwe is now an impaired economic
asset.

“Farmers have weak security of tenure and week land rights.
Lending to the agricultural sector has become excessively constrained and is
heavily risk loaded resulting in massive limitations to production. The
sector is both uncompetitive and non-performing as a result,” said the
optimistic CFU president.

Taffs added that land reform beneficiaries
remained inadequately empowered to leverage the potential of the land to
which they have been given access. “Access on its own is not enough.
Thirteen years on we are left with an agriculture sector in
turmoil.

“The rural infrastructure is collapsing, thousands of kilometres
of fencing have been removed and conservation land laws are being openly
disregarded with dire environmental consequences. Earthen dam walls are
becoming unstable due to little or lack of maintenance.”

CFU said:
“As a farming community in partnership with government, it is our combined
duty and responsibility to supply raw materials for industry and export as
well as to adequately feed the nation. We are quite clearly
failing.”

The farmers union said its proposal which is the solution
to Zimbabwe’s struggling economy is fair, all inclusive, focussed and must
be adopted and implemented in the short term. “This solution must
re-establish the basic fundamental foundations needed for rapid economic
recovery and economic gain, those being property rights.”

CFU will
submit its agriculture sector and economic revival proposal to government
and other stakeholders soon.

Farms
retake splits Zanu PF

Thursday, 17 January 2013 10:49HARARE - President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party is sharply divided over a moratorium to seize
commercial farms protected under government-to-government
agreements.

The decree to stop seizures of foreign-owned farms protected
under Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas) was
issued after government was forced to fork out 16 million Euro by the
Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID) to 40 evicted Dutch farmers.

No payment has been made by the
cash-strapped Zimbabwe government to date, with more claims against the
government pending before the ICSID.

While Lands minister Herbert Murerwa
told State TV that government had resolved to stop evictions on farms
protected under Bippa to avert paying further compensation, his Justice and
Legal Affairs counterpart Patrick Chinamasa said government disregards the
treaty aimed at protecting overseas investments and any farm designated for
expropriation would be seized.

He spoke amid a furore over the
destruction of 70 hectares of maize crop grown by 55 small-scale farmers who
had invaded Tavydale Farm in Mazowe protected by a Bippa.

The 55
farmers were arrested and their claims for compensation thrown out in a
dramatic turn of events.

Murerwa said government has resolved to stop all
seizure on farms protected under Bippa.

“If it is covered by a Bippa,
a bilateral agreement, then government has taken a decision that it will not
take these farms for the time being because it will simply increase our
liability to litigation,” Murerwa said, signalling a shift in government
policy.

But Chinamasa said government will press ahead with plans to
transfer control of land under white-ownership to local blacks.

“The
law is very clear, the constitution allows government to acquire any land
irrespective of whether it comes under Bippa or not,” Chinamasa said. “The
only proviso is that when we acquire land under Bippa, we should pay full
compensation, when we acquire outside Bippa we only pay compensation for
improvements.”

A policy document tabled by Mugabe’s Zanu PF party at its
annual conference in December notes that out of 153 farms protected under
Bippa, 116 have been seized to resettle 4 179 black families, leaving 37
farms protected under overseas agreements.

“The agreements require
that the government pay fair compensation in currency of former owner’s
choice for both land and improvements for acquired Bippa farms,” says the
Zanu PF policy document.

“In this regard, the government has an
outstanding payment of 16 million Euro awarded to Dutch farmers by the
ICSID.”

The countries with farms under Bippa are given as Denmark,
Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands and Switzerland.

Germany has
threatened to boycott the August UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)
summit scheduled for Victoria Falls over flagrant breach of Bippa by
Zimbabwe government. - Gift Phiri, Political Editor

Grace
Mugabe takes over Mazoe Estate

First Lady Grace Mugabe has taken over part of Zimbabwe
Stock Exchange-listed agro producer Interfresh’s Mazoe Citrus Estate to
expand her orphanage located close to the estate.The development would
further confirm the First Family’s status as multiple farm owners, contrary
to the country’s land redistribution laws.Investigations by NewsDay this
week revealed that Grace recently took over control of about 1 600 hectares
of land which was part of Mazoe Citrus Estate.According to sources,
Mashonaland Central governor Martin Dinha was instrumental in the
designation of the land and the parcelling of it to the First Lady.Dinha
chairs the provincial lands committee.The Resident minister yesterday
declined to comment on the matter, referring NewsDay to Lands minister
Herbert Murerwa, who is on leave.When schools opened earlier this month,
Dinha promised to provide more land to the First Lady during the official
opening of the Amai Mugabe Junior School in Mazowe, saying the school and
the orphanage had given the province a facelift.Dinha had earlier made
the same promise during a tour of the orphanage in October last year. He
said as the provincial leadership, they were already working on papers to
have the land extended.“The land is no longer sufficient to sustain the
projects the First Lady has on her sleeves,” Dinha said.“We are working
on the papers to stretch the land so that she can have more land to do her
projects.“Some people might say: ‘The First Lady is greedy, why does she
want more land?’, but we are saying it is justified for her to have more
land.”Workers and villagers who spoke to NewsDay on condition of anonymity
yesterday confirmed the development. Most of the workers, previously
employed by Interfresh, confirmed they were now working for the First
Lady.“I had worked for Interfresh for a long time . . . and all we hear now
is it has been taken over by the First Family, but we are still staying this
side,” said one worker.Another worker confirmed the development, but
said things were still uncertain at the farm.“Nothing is happening here
at the moment. The offices which were on this side (citrus estate) have been
moved to the other side (at the orphanage) and this happened after it was
taken over by the First Lady, so we are not sure of the way forward
now.”A villager from across the farm weighed in: “I am really not sure of
what is happening, but we know that the side called Smith Field has been
taken over by Grace Mugabe.”The First Lady’s spokesperson, Lawrence
Kamwi, referred all questions to Presidential spokesperson George
Charamba.“Why don’t you call the Presidential spokesperson? He is the best
person to talk to,” he said.Charamba, however, said he was abroad and
could not comment on the issue.“I am out of the country at the moment, so I
will not be of much help from this far end,” said Charamba.In a
statement on Tuesday, Interfresh confirmed losing land in Mazowe, saying the
Lands ministry had designated the property.“Shareholders are advised that
the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement has advised the company that a
portion measuring 1 599,7 hectares, which was part of Mazoe Citrus Estate,
has been allocated to another party,” said company secretary Tawanda
Namusi.In their statement, Interfresh said the portion allocated represented
46% of Mazoe Citrus Estate’s total arable land, 30% of its budgeted revenue
for the financial year 2013 and 52% of the value of immovable and biological
assets.They have since lodged an appeal with the Ministry of Lands and Rural
Resettlement. - NewsDay

ZANU
PF threatens mineworkers with dismissal

Tourism Minister and the ZANU PF MP for Masvingo
South, Walter Mzembi, has been accused of politicising a workers’ dispute at
a local mine, by threatening opposition supporters there with
dismissal.

According to the MDC-T, Mzembi has ordered all workers at the
Renco Mine to join ZANU PF or risk intimidation, political persecution and
dismissal from work.

The MDC-T provincial spokesperson, Harrison
Mudzuri, told SW Radio Africa that the mine has been in the midst of a
dispute between workers and management, and Mzembi is using this dispute for
his own political purposes. He explained that the ZANU PF minister is
“causing mayhem” by ordering the workers to join his party or risk being
fired.

“Mzembi also told the workers that all MDC supporters will be
thrown out of the company since he wielded powers to do so,” Mudzuri
said.

He went on to criticise Mzembi for interfering “where there should
be no political interference,” adding that the workers dispute “is not a
political problem, but a labour issue.”

“We believe that everyone,
including mine workers, has the right to vote for a party of his or her own
choice. It is quite displeasing to note that a government minister and
legislator could sink so low as to participate in cheap political
activities,” said Mudzuri.

The MDC-T said in a statement that Mzembi’s
actions are “characteristic of the hooliganism that is associated with ZANU
PF and should not be condoned.”

“The bullying of hapless mine workers
because of their political preferences is not only primitive but
retrogressive in modern politics. Such behaviour will not distract the
people’s march to a democratic dispensation,” the party said.

Heavy
rains bring chaos to Manicaland

Heavy rains for the past three weeks have swelled rivers and cut-off
bridges and traffic to many parts of Manicaland province, the deputy
director-general of the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) said on
Thursday.

Weeks of heavy rain have left large parts of the province under
water with the levels of most dams and rivers appearing to have peaked,
leaving the situation critical in many areas, particularly along
rivers.

Sibusisiwe Ndlovu told SW Radio Africa that torrential rains have
caused widespread damage to roads and bridges, leaving the province reeling.
She added that most rivers in the province are overflowing, with most of the
fast-rising ones affecting settlements along their banks.

‘The
situation we have is that we have overflowing rivers that are washing away
bridges. We are yet to have widespread flooding but we are at risk of
flooding. I must emphasize that we have no areas that are flooded yet,’ she
said.

Ndlovu warned people against making journeys across flooded
rivers. A number of individuals have died in the last month trying to cross
some of these flooded rivers in Manicaland province.

‘It is not
advisable to venture into a flooded river, it’s rather you wait until the
water subsides or find another route,’ explained the deputy head of the
CPU.

About 200 pupils from Katsenga secondary school in Makoni South have
not been attending lessons after the bridge they used to walk to school was
swept away last Saturday.

A villager in the area, Lloyd Madziva, said
the bridge, along the Mucheke river at Chinembiri, was completely washed
away, cutting off some villages and closed roads.

‘There hasn’t been
any traffic for a week now, we have children that are not going to school
and we have had no mode of transport since the bridge links the only road to
Rusape, the main town in the district,’ Madziva said.

Earlier this week
more than 100 mourners, who included Central Vehicle Registry staff members,
had to be rescued after they were marooned by floods for four days in Tanda
village in Headlands.

They were air-lifted by an Airforce of Zimbabwe
helicopter from the village to Mayo Business Centre, across the flooded
river. They had been attending the funeral of their colleague and relative,
Wendy Saumba. The stranded mourners were airlifted in groups of 15 by the
Air Force.

State
abusing justice delivery system: Mtetwa

HARARE - Top human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa has accused
the State of abusing the justice delivery system by being political in a
case in which her client ZimRights director Okay Machisa lost a bail
bid.

Mtetwa said this yesterday during a bail application for Machisa,
whose organisation is accused of manufacturing fake copies of voter
registration certificates.

She said this after prosecutor Michael
Reza in his submissions opposing bail told the court that Machisa’s action
in the alleged offence would have resulted in the forthcoming elections
being declared a “farce” by the international community.

He said this
would have resulted in the United Nations’ intervention and the country
declared a “no-fly zone”.

“These are political submissions, more suitable
for a party political rally not a court,” Mtetwa hit back.

“I mention
this before you (court) because the State is in the habit of abusing the
criminal justice system for political reasons and this is done to
misrepresent facts to judicial officers,” said Mtetwa.

Mtetwa told the
court Machisa was a suitable candidate for bail and had presented himself to
the police.

She said there was no evidence Machisa was going to interfere
with evidence considering that the police raided his offices twice but
failed to find anything.

Machisa, who is facing forgery and
conspiracy to commit fraud charges or publishing false statements
prejudicial to the State, yesterday appeared in court in leg
irons.

Mtetwa protested and said this was meant to “dehumanise” her
client and portray him as a dangerous criminal, but Reza justified it as a
security measure after court officials were previously attacked by
suspects.

It is alleged that Machisa together with Dorcas Shereni, Leo
Chamahwinya, Farai Bhani and Tatenda Chinaka produced fake copies of voter
registration certificates between May this year and this month in a bid to
defraud the Registrar General’s office.

The other four have since
appeared before the court.

Magistrate Tendai Mahwe yesterday ruled that
Machisa was not a suitable candidate for bail before remanding him to
January 30. - Tendai Kamhungira

Makone
bemoans selective application of the law

By Chengetayi Zvauya, Parliamentary
EditorThursday, 17 January 2013 10:29HARARE - Co-Home Affairs minister
Theresa Makone says selective application of the law is still rampant, four
years after the formation of a coalition government that promised
reforms.

Makone said this while addressing MDC supporters at her
homestead in Goromonzi West Constituency during a reception for 29 MDC
activists who are facing charges of killing a police officer in
2011.

She compared the continued stay in prison of some MDC activists to
six Zanu PF supporters accused of murdering an MDC official in Mutoko last
May but were released on bail.

“The Zanu PF supporters who killed
Cephas Magura in Mutoko were given bail without staying more than six months
in cells.

“They shall go to trial under a different government. There is
a lot of impunity happening, look at what happened to Matabeleland
massacres, no one has been arrested to date.

“Now we have an increase
in cases of our members and civic society members being harassed and
arrested. We want justice in these matters and everyone to be treated
equally,” said Makone.

Makone warned MDC supporters to brace for more
police arrests and persecution as the country prepares for a watershed poll
to be held this year.

“If you are going to court to face murder
charges say the truth and justice will prevail.

“As MDC we are ready
for elections anytime and we know that many of our supporters are going to
be arrested but be ready for prison because it’s part of the democratisation
process,” said Makone.

“The road to a new Zimbabwe is by going through
Chikurubi prison. All Zanu PF leaders were at one time in their political
lives detained by the Ian Smith regime and spent a long time in prison. You
must do the same,” said Makone, who is also MDC Women Assembly
chairperson.

MDC youth leader Solomon Madzore led the activists in
thanking the Makone family in the support they had received during their 18
months stay in remand prison.

Some, such as Yvonne Musarurwa,
Tungamirai Madzokere, and Last Maengahama remain in remand
prison.

Makone said Zanu PF activists accused of murdering Magura, an MDC
official Mudzi in May last year were hastily released on bail.

The
Zanu PF activists Graciano Kazingizi, Biggie Office, Raphael Bobo, Perkins
Karikoga and Phillip Katsande, including a councillor for the area, David
Chimukoko were granted $100 bail on October 19 after five months in remand
prison.

Diamond
cash tears Zanu PF

MUTARE - Zanu
PF has opened an investigation into possible looting of cash donated to the
party by some firms mining diamonds in Marange.

It is a case that could
open a can of worms, but so far, the probe is centering on the party’s
Manicaland provincial chairperson Mike Madiro, although bigger fish are
reportedly involved.

Madiro is under investigation for allegedly
receiving an undisclosed amount of money from some diamond mining companies
in Marange under the guise of assisting youths to set up incoming generating
projects.

He is alleged to have diverted the money for his own
use.

Party secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa confirmed a probe
was underway.

“Yes, the party is investigating the allegations that
are being levelled against him. We are expecting the findings before the end
of the week,” said Mutasa.

Madiro rubbished the reports.

He
told the Daily News in a brief telephone interview that he had nothing to do
with the alleged investigation by his party.

“I have no comment, as my
comment will not add any value to the party Zanu PF which I belong to,”
Madiro said.

He added he was unaware that he was under any investigation
from anyone on anything.

Sources within Zanu PF say the under fire
Manicaland chairperson is being investigated by officials from within his
party for suspected misappropriation of funds running into thousands of
dollars.

Mutasa would not say more on the matter stating that they will
wait for the outcome of the probe, which would be made public.

Madiro
is the latest senior Zanu PF official to come under probe following the
sacking of the party’s Manicaland provincial youth chair Tawanda Mukodza who
was accused of failing to account for youths’ projects money.

Kelvin
Manyengavana replaced Mukodza.

Mukodza’s ouster in December has since
been endorsed by the party in Manicaland province.

He was accused of
also not accounting for money meant for youth projects.

The matter is
still in the hands of the party and no police report has been made yet,
sources say.

The Zanu PF national secretary for youth affairs Absalom
Sikhosana last week upheld Mukodza’s sacking on allegations of corruption,
nepotism, insubordination and fanning divisions within the party.

But
Mukodza is adamant he is still the party’s youth leader. Mukodza said
Sikhosana, as an individual, had no power to endorse his ouster from the
party.

“I am party cadre who will not relent to work for the party
and act on what appears in newspapers. As far as I know, I have not received
that letter and I remain the Zanu PF Manicaland provincial chair. Sikhosana
is not a member of the party’s disciplinary committee, which is supposed to
deal with such alleged issues,” said Mukodza. - Sydney Saize

Diamonds
bartered for guns-Minister

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces, which owns a substantial stake in
the diamond mining industry, is bartering the gems to buy weapons and other
equipment to sustain its operations, says the Deputy Minister of Mines and
Mining Development, Gift Chimanikire.

In an exclusive
interview recently, Chimanikire shed light on the problems bedevilling
diamond production and sales, which have been blighted by accusations of
widespread abuse by State agencies aligned to Zanu (PF) since the deposits
were discovered about a decade ago.

He revealed that the army was
sourcing the weapons from China by surrendering the diamonds without
properly ascertaining their commercial value, implying that the country
could be earning far less than the gems are worth.

“The problem with
our diamonds is that they are being subjected to a barter system and not
being auctioned on the open market. They are just not being valued properly.
Anjin (one of the companies mining diamonds in the Marange fields in
Manicaland province) is 90 percent owned by the Chinese and 10 percent by
the army. Whatever (the army) gets, they barter for weapons,” Chimanikire
told The Zimbabwean.

Recent reports indicate that ZDF is clandestinely
sourcing weapons from unknown suppliers, offsetting an outcry from critics
that there is no need to buy weapons when Zimbabwe is enjoying relative
peace and there are no prospects of war.

Besides Anjin, Mbada
Diamonds and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation—representing
government - are also involved in mining in Marange fields. Chimanikire
expressed concern that bartering the diamonds made it difficult to account
for sales. “What I know is that by the end of 2010, Anjin had 5,8 million
carats but they were not auctioned on the Zimbabwean market. They were sold
through the barter system and we don’t really know how much we are getting
from the diamonds. How do you audit a barter system?

“When we try and say
how much revenue is being realised from the diamonds, it becomes difficult
because some of those carats are never transferred to hard cash,” he said.
Some of the diamonds are reportedly being used to fund Chinese projects in
Zimbabwe, among them the construction of the Zanu (PF) conference centre in
Gweru.

Hastily built last year for the party’s 13th conference, the
centre is believed to have cost several millions of dollars but it is not
clear why diamond money was channelled to a party
project.

Chimanikire said the Chinese had benefited from the diamonds by
moving from one project to another. “The Chinese are moving from one project
to another. They have been working on the National Defence College, the
hotel in Harare (built on a wetland close to the National Sports Stadium)
and the Zanu (PF) Conference in Gweru,” he said.

The minister
revealed that Zimbabwe did not have its own evaluators who could check the
value of diamonds but relied on external evaluators.

“I have always been
critical about this (external evaluation). Let us know how much we owe the
Chinese and let’s engage our own evaluators. The situation is even worse
because we don’t have monthly audits, the Chinese just use their own
evaluators,” he said, adding that the contracts signed with the Chinese were
a major constraint in realising revenue from the diamonds because they were
too open and lacked detail.

“Some of the agreements with the Chinese are
difficult to monitor because they don’t have a specified time frame. As a
ministry, we can only pass recommendations. It is a cabinet decision to
revisit the contracts. Maybe if we had one government it would make the
situation easier,” Chimanikire said.

Since 2009, Zimbabwe has been
governed by a coalition government comprising Zanu (PF) and the two MDC
formations that have failed to pull in one direction due to ideological and
strategic differences.

Chimanikire said it was important to involve
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority at a production level so it could monitor all the
transactions. He also complained that the diamonds were being sorted at the
Harare International Airport.

“Our diamonds are sorted at the
airport, which is senseless for me. I am sure we are the only country that
has the sorting of diamonds done at an airport for reasons best known to
those who made the decision,” he added.

According to the 2013 National
Budget, cumulative diamond output for the first nine months of 2012 stood at
8 million carats, against projected annual output of 12 million
carats.

Economic analyst, John Robertson, said there were no rules to
regulate diamond mining, resulting in abuses. “We are supposed to be getting
tax revenue from the companies involved in the mining of diamond and export
revenue but we are not getting anything. It seems the mining companies are
not obliged to abide by the Zimbabwean laws. No one is checking on the value
of the diamonds that are being extracted, we only depend on what we are told
because we have no evaluators,” he said.

Robertson added that the
employees at the diamond mining companies were not remitting tax to the
government and the number of the workforce remained unknown. Bulawayo-based
economist, Eric Bloch, said revenue from the diamonds could be boosted if
measures were put in place to avoid smuggling and black market
operations.

Anjin, which began operations in Marange in 2010 is estimated
by a human rights group Global Witness to have produced three million carats
last year but refused to remit diamond revenue to the treasury because of a
$98-million loan China extended to Zimbabwe for the construction of a
national defence college in Harare.

The international watchdog last
year reported that millions of dollars from the diamonds were being
channelled to fund the operations of the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Students
blast Biti over loans, grants

THE Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) vowed
Thursday to take the government head-on over its failure to disburse loans
and grants to tertiary students across the country.

ZINASU head Pride
Mukono accused Finance Minister Tendai Biti of misleading the country by
claiming that funds for student grants had since been released.

He
told journalists at a press conference in Harare that Cabinet ministers were
not concerned about the conditions at the country’s universities and
colleges because their children were studying abroad.

“Tawanda Biti,
the son of Biti, Finance Minister is in Australia, PM Tsvangirai’s children
are in Australia and Ignatius Chombo’s children are also abroad while we
have been relegated to the deteriorating learning standards in the country
and ministers’ children do not know even the taste of the water we drink
here in Zimbabwe,” charged Mukono.

He said warned that students would
confront the authorities and refuse to vacate college and university
premises if they are forced to pay any fees.

“Previously, we acted as
rats running from our pursers, but this time the rats shall confront the
cats and we won’t bow down to any intimidation,” said the student
leader.

The students also demanded the immediate implementation of the
national budget presented by Biti last year in November.“We demand that
the national budget be immediately implemented rather than being relegated
to the dustbin of history soon after it was announced in parliament, and we
also demand that President Mugabe appoint a new Higher Education Minister to
fill the position left by the late Stan Mudenge,” said the ZINASU
president.

Biti allocated US$11.3 million for student loans and grants,
which he said would be raised through increased excise duty on tobacco and
alcohol. But the student leaders said the amount was too
little.

Universities around the country are charging US$720 for tuition
fees only excluding food and accommodation while polytechnics and teachers’
colleges demand $400 inclusive of accommodation.

30
000 vacant posts in education

THE education sector remains in a crisis with
the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture having more than 30 000
vacant posts as the new school term unfolds.This is at a time when
Treasury has imposed a recruitment freeze to manage a financial squeeze
rattling the inclusive government.The ministry, which has a workforce of 138
950 and 3 959 315 learners in both primary and secondary schools, has little
room to manoeuvre this year in terms of improving standards.About 94
percent of its budgetary allocation will go towards salaries, leaving only
5, 9 percent for other requirements such as quality assurance and capacity
development.All the five parastatals under the ministry have also fallen
victim to the obtaining state of affairs. The Zimbabwe Schools Examination
Council, which is responsible for public examinations, has been the hardest
hit.A closer look at the ministry’s budget allocation shows that it would
have less than US$1 to educate its 3 959 315 learners per month against the
universally recommended US$7 per month per child.According to the latest
report by the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Sports, Arts and
Culture, Members of Parliament are of the view that the situation could
worsen this year due to underfunding.Fears are that the ministry might not
even get the full allocation and to worsen matters, Treasury has
traditionally released funds late thereby negatively impacting on programmes
due to unavailability of funds when they are needed.Several measures are
being recommended by the committee to rescue the situation.“To reduce
costs, the committee recommends that the Ministries of Education, Sport,
Arts and Culture; Higher and Tertiary Education and Science and Technology
be collapsed into one ministry. This will result in reduction of some
overhead costs since these ministries have almost similar responsibilities,”
reads part of the committee report.“To ensure that all Ministries are
adequately funded, it is recommended that the revenue collection by the
E-government must improve and any revenue collected by any E-government
department must go to Treasury for equal distribution among all
ministries.”Members of the committee are opposed to incentives paid to
teachers by parents as they are divisive.To escape low salaries, some
teachers have resorted to taking a lackadaisical approach to work during
normal working hours so as to ask students to come for extra lessons to
enable them to demand separate payments.While in the past, extra lessons
were for those writing public examinations such as those in form four, now
children as young as in grade two are asked to attend.The MPs said while
the civil service needs to be well-paid, infrastructure development, a key
driver of national development, should also be given adequate attention by
government.It was also recommended that government pay attention to
buildings and improving school infrastructure for proper learning to take
place, particularly given that some schools are using make-shift
facilities.The ministry should also consider sprucing up sporting facilities
that were allocated only 0,64 percent of the ministry’s budget, which is
indicative of the myth that sport is not a source of livelihood and that
children should focus on the academic aspect as the only source of
livelihood, even though the two aspects should complement each other.

Tobacco
farmers pollute rivers

The discharge of pesticides into the country’s water sources
by tobacco farmers is posing a danger to aquatic life and villagers,
according to the Environmental Management Agency. The EMA Environmental
Quality Manager, Silvia Yomisi, said fish deaths had been reported in the
Mazowe area and the EMA organic laboratory was currently testing water to
determine the level of contamination.

Yomisi was speaking
during the EMA Laboratory Accreditation Certificate handover ceremony in
Harare recently. She would not disclose how widespread the problem was and
what measures were being taken to arrest the crisis.

The EMA laboratory,
which was established in 2007, received the ISO International
Electro-Technical Standards 1702 five certification, which will see the
results from the laboratory being accepted globally.

EMA Board
chairperson, Sheunesu Mpepereki, said Zimbabwe was moving from speculation
to fact regarding substances that were endangering the
environment.

“It is about moving from qualitative to quantitative
descriptions. We must measure exactly how much substances are endangering
the environment. It has been a long road but we are happy now that our
capacity to measure environmental pollutants is now matching world
standards,” he said.

He said while EMA fully supported the exploitation
of mineral wealth in the country and commercial farming, it expected people
to do it in a manner that would not harm the environment. ‘We are not out to
make life difficult but we are preventing you from making us extinct,” he
said.

The laboratory currently has 40, 000 chemicals for analysis for
water sources scattered across the country, including boreholes, rivers and
streams.

“This is so that we can trace back pollution to its source,
especially in rural areas where people are unsuspecting. They need to be
protected, they need to have confidence in their water,” said EMA Director
General, Mutsa Chasi.

She said tests made so far had indicated there
was a heavy metal contamination in the country’s underground
water.

The EMAL becomes only the second environmental laboratory to be
accredited by SADCAS.

Zim
facing environmental disaster

Thursday, 17 January 2013 19:02Nelson
Chenga, Staff ReporterSEWERAGE waste and siltation continue to clog Lake
Chivero, the main source of Harare's bulk water supply.Sixty-one years
after the lake was commissioned, the water reservoir has been shrinking in
both size and usefulness due to pollution.As a result, Harare city fathers
are now spending much more on water purification at a time when the
capital's revenue-generating capacity is constrained due to the economic
crisis affecting its residents.Council is currently using a cocktail of 14
chemicals to purify water from Lake Chivero before piping it to residential
areas.Health experts have warned that the water purification bill was
unsustainable for a city with an annual population growth rate of five to
six percent.Harare is presently home to an estimated four million
people.But the disaster unfolding at Lake Chivero is just a microcosm of the
tragedy unfolding in the rest of the country due to the wanton destruction
of natural resources.And yet the same natural resources should anchor
Zimba-bwe's future growth and survival.A cocktail of challenges have
been fueling environmental degradation in Zimbabwe.These include a
flight of foreign direct investments; non-performing agriculture and
manufacturing sectors; deteriorating infrastructure; poor water and
electricity supply system and a rapidly changing climate.Despite the
stability brought about by the inclusive government and the adoption of
multi-currencies, the coalition has not been singing from the same hymn
sheet on many things, including its response to issues to do with the
environment.But while the bickering continues, the environment has been
suffering much more.It is estimated that between 100 000 and 320 000
hectares of forest cover were lost per year between 2000 and 2008. With no
figures available on the state of the country's forests since then, it is
anyone's guess as to how much tree cover is left out there.With the
status of the country's wildlife also unknown, increasing poaching
activities are threatening with extinction many of Zimb-abwe's unique
species such as the black rhino, pangolin, ant eater and leopard.And
underlying these environmental challenges is political lethargy that has
resulted in the non implementation of environmental policies that are
supposed to help sustainable development.A 2010 United Nations
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) report on Zimbabwe says the major
challenge facing the country is that of ensuring environmental
sustainability and timely implementation of the Environ-mental Management
Act.The Environmental Mana-gement Agency (EMA), according to the report,
plays a key role in translating the objectives of the Act into reality, but
it lacks both human and financial resources."The low level of
environmental awareness among key law enforcement agencies such as the
judiciary and the police further hinders both the success of domestic
self-financing mechanisms through fines and penalties to replenish the
Environ-mental Fund and halt negative practices. The capacity to implement
multilateral environmental agreements, as well as to coordinate the various
actors on the part of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
Management is constrained," says the report.Although EMA has identified
deforestation, drought and desertification, soil erosion and fires, water
pollution, loss of biodiversity, water hyacinth invasion on lakes and dams,
air pollution, poor waste management as well as land degradation as some of
the environmental challenges facing Zim-babwe, lack of robust political
by-in and a clear and decisive government leadership have effectively
rendered the agency ineffective.Given this scenario, EMA has warned that the
country is starring at major ecological and economic losses if these
environmental problems continue unchecked, a situation that could easily
trigger social and cultural shocks and hardship in affected
communities."The cost of no action is high, for example the rehabilitation
of decommissioned mines requires at least US$32 million," says an EMA
statement.Zimbabwe's 2010 MDGs report recommends that the country should
prioritise the restoration of existing water and sanitation infrastructure
in both urban and rural areas that would be accompanied by a large-scale
sanitation behavioural change programme targeted at eliminating open
defecation.According to the 2009 Multiple Indicator Monitoring Survey, the
proportion of people in rural areas with access to safe drinking water
declined by nine percent from 70 percent in 1999 to 61 percent in 2009 while
69,5 percent of all rural households had no access to hygienic sanitation
facilities.The Department of Infrastru-ctural Development has also noted
that more than 65 percent of all rural water points are non-functional at
any given time while the country's extensive rural sanitation programme has
also experienced a sharp decline in quality.Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's 2010
MDGs report indicates that despite being a low greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter,
the country is getting warmer as the monthly highest daily maximum
temperatures for most of the country are increasing by about two degrees
celsius per century, while the percentage of days with low temperatures is
decreasing at a rate of about 15 days per century."Assuming that GHG
emissions continue along the predicted trajectory, it is predicted that
temperatures will rise by between 0,5°C and two degrees celsius by 2030, and
one degree celsius and 3,5°C by 2070. National average rainfall declined by
about five percent between 1900 and 2000 ... the 1980s and early 1990s
witnessed what were most likely Zimbabwe's driest periods of the 20th
Century."There has been a noted shift in agricultural seasons, as evidenced
by late onset and sometimes late cessation of the rainy season. Longer-term
rainfall predictions for Zimbabwe are less certain."Various models
predict that rainfall patterns are likely to change and that extreme events
such as drought and floods are likely to increase in frequency. Certain
models predict that there will have been a 10-20 percent decline in rainfall
by 2050," says the MDGs report.As a signatory to the UN-set MDGs, Zimbabwe
pledged to achieve environmental sustainability through integrating the
principles of sustainable development into the country's policies and
programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources; significantly
reducing biodiversity loss by 2010; halve, by 2015, the proportion of people
without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation; and considerably
improve the lives of its slam dwellers by 2020.However, much of the
evidence on the ground points to a nation in reverse mode as no meaningful
progress has been achieved to meeting these targets.

China
beef-up campaign equipment for Robert Mugabe

HARARE - A high definition outside
broadcasting van donated by the Chinese government to the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is expected in the country in two weeks
time.The digital satellite news gathering van and a nine camera digital high
definition outside broadcasting van are expected to improve the operations
of the national broadcaster in outside broadcasting, news gathering and
transmission from the country’s 10 provinces.

Speaking after a five
member Chinese delegation handed over shipment papers for the equipment, ZBC
Group CEO, Happison Muchechetere hailed relations between China and Zimbabwe
and expressed gratitude to the Chinese for their assistance in the
digitalisation process.

"We are happy to have secured this van, which is
a positive development towards the national broadcaster's digitalisation
process. Now we will be able to get information from all parts of the
country and trasmit it instantly to our television channels using digital
satellite. We used to hire such a van from South Africa and we would fork
out over US$20000 and now we are happy that we will no longer be doing
that," said Muchechetere.

The Chinese head of delegation, Mr Zhou Mai
said their company is willing to work with the national broadcaster by
providing technical support.

The delegation was then taken for a tour of
the TV and radio studios at the ZBC headquarters at Pockets Hill,
Harare.

SADC has set a deadline for its member states to move from
analogue to digital broadcasting by the end of this year while the
International Communications Union (ICU) expects the whole world to be
broadcasting on digital by 2015.

Mr Muchechetere said by the end of
this year, the national broadcaster will be halfway through with the
digitalisation process and will definitely meet the 2015 ICU
deadline.Meanwhile Robert Mugabe has accused Western countries of plotting
to assassinate him to gain access to Zimbabwe’s wealth.Mugabe told a
meeting of Zimbabwean students in Beijing during his annual vacation that
Western countries planned to kill him.Zimbabwean leaders usually use the
term “West” to refer to Britain and the United States in particular.In
an already tense election campaign, where his opposition senses it has its
best chance to end the socialist leader’s 32-year grip on the South African
nation, Mugabe implied that the plot had come from within the West’s own
ranks.The report on State TV did not specify the exact source of the
plot.But it is the second time the 88-year-old leader has made the shocking
claim after making similar claims at his Zanu PF party’s annual conference
last month.Mugabe said the plot involved hostile non-governmental
organisations bankrolled by the West and was aimed at driving him out of
power and imposing a “puppet government”, a phrase he regularly uses to
refer to his foe and coalition partner Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who
hopes to block his bid for re-election this year.Mugabe gave few details
of the alleged plot.“They send NGOs into our system, they always want puppet
regimes and if there is a strong government, they talk of regime change,”
Mugabe told the students.“They want to change us, change me for a long
time if not get rid of me if not to kill me altogether. And that is the
appetite of the West for wealth. We also have appetite for wealth, but not
for other people’s wealth.”Earlier last month, Mugabe told his 13th national
people’s conference: “You can’t be afraid that you will be killed. How many
have died? This is my country. I will die for it. A lot of others have died
for it.”US ambassador to Zimbabwe Bruce Wharton told reporters in Bulawayo
last month that there was no plot whatsoever to bump off the veteran
ruler.“That is not our policy and we would not do that. It is not our policy
in Zimbabwe,” Wharton said.“Let me be very clear: the United States
wants a strong, stable, prosperous, just Zimbabwe. We are looking for ways
to support that through healthy positive productive means, no other means,”
he said.If anything, the US was ready to work with Zanu PF if it won a free
and fair vote.“If the elections are open and neutral and the people of
Zimbabwe and Sadc, supposedly the monitoring teams, say these are good
elections, yes, I think the United States would support a Mugabe government
if it is elected,” he said

Ncube
is not a principal, says Tsvangirai

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says his nemesis
Welshman Ncube, leader of the smaller MDC by legislative representation, is
not entitled to attend the Monday Principals’ meeting as it is exclusive to
government leaders.

In response, Ncube’s camp says Tsvangirai has
“graduated” into “Zimbabwe’s enemy number two” after Mugabe.

On
Tuesday Ncube attacked Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe for locking
him out of the Monday meeting as preparations for the constitution-making
process gather momentum.

But Sadc the
guarantors of the tenuous inclusive government recognise Ncube, who took
over as the leader of the MDC formation in 2011 before Mutambara contested
his ouster.

The latest Principals’ standoff is now threatening to suck in
Sadc as Ncube mulls taking the issue to the regional body for
arbitration.

“The snub shows lack of sincerity especially on the part of
Tsvangirai and he has become Zimbabwe’s enemy number two after Mugabe,” said
Qhubani Moyo, the party’s policy director.

“He has become too relaxed
under Mugabe’s armpit and if this trend continues, we will approach
Sadc.”

William Bango, Tsvangirai’s acting spokesperson, yesterday told
the Daily News that Ncube could not attend the Principals’ meetings on
Mondays because they were exclusive to leaders of government not political
party leaders.

“The Prime Minister does not wish to comment on the
obvious,” Bango said. “It should be known that Monday meetings are for
government leaders , that is the President, the Prime Minister and the
Deputy Prime Minister and not leaders of political parties.

“Ncube
attends political party leaders’ meetings on Tuesdays after Cabinet but
because Cabinet has not yet resumed, the meeting will be on Thursday
(today).”

The latest standoff between Tsvangirai and Ncube shows
escalating tension between the former allies.

Ncube accuses
Tsvangirai of being out of touch with the reality, labelling the former
trade unionist a privileged elite who now lives in $2 million mansion while
the populace wallow in poverty.

In retaliation, Tsvangirai has described
Ncube as a “village politician” who cannot win national elections. - Staff
Writer

Death of Zimbabwe
Vice-President Nkomo sparks debate

The death of John Landa Nkomo, Zimbabwe's vice-president and
founding member of PF-Zapu, has revived discussions surrounding the 1987
Unity Accord.

Nkomo (78) died on Thursday at St Anne's Hospital in Harare
where he was receiving treatment for cancer.

Sources within the party
say debate could potentially put to rest the accord signed between President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and Joshua Nkomo’s PF-Zapu.

Nkomo was a member of
Zapu before the party merged with Zanu-PF in 1987 under a deal that was
meant to end hostilities between the two parties that resulted in the deaths
of as many as 20 000 mainly Ndebele-speaking people.

According to the
Unity Accord, Nkomo is supposed to be replaced in government by a former
member of Zapu – in this case party national chairperson and former
ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo.

But party sources said
there are manoeuvres by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction to
scuttle that arrangement and position Mines Minister Obert Mpofu as Nkomo’s
successor.

Mugabe’s 'ever-obedient son'Mpofu who, in a letter to
Mugabe, described himself as President Mugabe’s “ever-obedient son”, has
vowed to change Zanu-PF’s fortunes in the Matabeleland region.

“There
is a view that the Unity Accord is divisive. Moreover, the contention within
Zanu-PF at the moment is that their colleagues from former Zapu have no
value to the current status quo since the death of Joshua Nkomo in 1999,
because they have no constituency,” said a Zanu-PF politburo member aligned
to Mnangagwa.

Another politburo member said: “We are now a united
people and it might not be necessary to fill posts on the basis of previous
party affiliations. It’s divisive and I think even the president [Mugabe]
acknowledges that.”

Moyo, a former confidante to the late PF-Zapu leader
Joshua Nkomo, would be well-placed to replace John Nkomo – but sources say
questions are being asked about the value of former Zapu candidates to
Zanu-PF, given all former PF-Zapu cadres have failed to win parliamentary
seats under Zanu-PF since the emergence of the Movement for Democratic
Change party in 1999.

Mourning 'a comrade'When contacted for comment,
party secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa said it was not yet time
to discuss the issue, saying they was mourning “a comrade”.

Mutasa is
understood to be eyeing the chairmanship post, and would favour retaining
the Unity Accord arrangement so that Moyo would create a vacancy for
him.

State media were silent on Nkomo’s passing but the US Embassy was
quick to offer his family its condolences saying: “Whether as a teacher, a
politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant,
Vice-President Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s
sovereignty and prosperity.”

Nkomo’s son, Jabulani confirmed his
father’s death to the Mail & Guardian.

Nkomo, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s
armed struggle, was appointed by President Robert Mugabe as deputy president
in 2009 after serving time as Zanu-PF’s national chairperson.

Prior
to that, Nkomo was a member of the ANC between 1958-59 – before he joined
the National Democratic Party in Zimbabwe in 1960.

He later joined Zapu
in 1961. At Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, Nkomo was voted member of
parliament in Matabeleland North. He served as a member of parliament,
deputy minister and minister of various departments including labour,
industry and energy, as well as local government, rural development and home
affairs.

According Zanu-PF's policy, a politburo meeting has to declare
Nkomo a national hero – a process it carries out before someone is buried at
Harare’s National Heroes Acre.

John Nkomo: what they said

VICE President John Nkomo lost his battle with cancer on Thursday at the
age of 79.

The former ZAPU stalwart died at Harare's St Anne's Hospital after being
admitted overnight.

Here are some early reactions to his death:

President Robert Mugabe: “We've lost our vice president
John Landa Nkomo. He was suffering for a long time with cancer. All of a sudden
now we heard his situation had become worse ... deteriorated from yesterday
[Wednesday].

"So I would like to express on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe,
myself, the Cabinet and the Zanu PF party my sincere condolences to the Nkomo
family, relatives, friends and everyone else who new Cde Nkomo.

“We have lost a real revolutionary, a fighter of freedom, a friend of the
people. He will be dearly missed by all of us."

Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono:“The sad and untimely
departure of our revered Vice President John Nkomo is an incalculable loss to
the nation.

“The board of the RBZ, management, staff, my family and I join the Nkomo
family, President Mugabe, government and the whole nation in mourning the loss
of a leader, businessman of impeccable repute and a father whose contribution to
the liberation, progress and development of this country places him in the
supreme category of departed heroes.

“His unassuming disposition despite his position of authority, knowledge,
wisdom and rare credentials made him a personal friend of almost everybody he
interacted with. He will be missed by many.”

Education and Sport Minister David Coltart: “I’m very
sorry to hear through of the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo. Although
Nkomo was a member of a political party I clash with often, I always had a very
cordial personal relationship with him.

“I first got to know him some 27 years ago when many of his colleagues in
ZAPU were detained and I as a young lawyer was instructed to represent them. He
would often come into my office at Webb, Low and Barry to enquire after his
colleagues and we developed a good friendship which stood the test of
time.

“In the last four years in Cabinet, we have been able to rekindle that
friendship and I always found him a moderating influence in Cabinet. I last saw
him when we opened a secondary school together in Tsholotsho last year which was
built near the primary school where he went. We had a very pleasant day together
and I am pleased that he was able to do this in the twilight of his life.

“I was very impressed with the dignified way in which he dealt with his
illness. I will miss him in Cabinet. I convey my deepest sympathy to his family
and political colleagues.”

United States Embassy statement: “The Embassy of the
United States of America expresses its condolences to the family and the people
of Zimbabwe on the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo.

“Whether as a teacher, a politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s
independence, or as a public servant, Vice President Nkomo was a patriot who
dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and prosperity.

“As a leader of PF Zapu and Zanu PF, Nkomo played an important role in
shaping the course of Zimbabwean history. May he rest in peace.”

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal Trudy Stevenson on
Twitter: “I’m very sorry to learn Zimbabwe’s Vice President John Nkomo
has died. Condolences to all. RIP.”

GM: How much support have you been getting from your party
since you went into exile?

RB: Like hundreds of thousands of
Zimbabweans who have been victimised by Zanu’s murderous regime there has
been no support forthcoming from our party. We all got involved in the
people’s project to bring true change and get rid of Zanu’s murderous
mafia.

So, instead, I would look at it from the opposite perspective: how
much support have I given the party since I have been in exile?

True
cadres of the MDC joined to give not to take or expect something back; they
joined to serve not to eat. As time goes by the core of the party, which is
the people, will hold us all accountable.

No leader would have a position
if it was not for the people; the MDC brand, the Tsvangirai brand, is the
project of the people of Zimbabwe.

They supported the MDC/Tsvangirai
brand, died for the MDC/Tsvangirai brand, had their property looted
destroyed for the MDC/Tsvangirai brand, beaten and raped for the
MDC/Tsvangirai brand and so on and so forth. Let us leaders never forget
that. I do not expect any support from my party, rather I give my support
unconditionally. My party is me, my party is the people’s
project.

Together to the end. The last mile.

GM: When Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai accepted President Robert Mugabe’s refusal to
have you sworn as deputy Agriculture minister and instead appointed the late
Seiso Moyo, how did you take this, considering that at first Tsvangirai had
spiritedly held a collective party decision not to budge on any other
candidate other than yourself?

RB: I never joined the MDC for a position.
I was disappointed that this decision was not communicated to me directly
and that I had to hear it from a journalist, but as the MDC is in government
with absolutely no power, I understand that difficult decisions in the
interest of progress have to be taken to move things forward.

I trust
this was a collective decision within the party and therefore as a true and
disciplined member of the party I accept that which I may not agree with and
move on.

Having said this, I was relieved not to have to try and do
anything meaningful under the regime which is still fully in
control.

Agriculture is the ministry where the most crooked and
destructive policies were implemented and I would more than likely ended up
delivering to (Agriculture minister Joseph) Made the same fate as I dished
out to Chinamasa (Bennett was jailed for one year for assaulting Justice
minister Patrick Chinamasa in 2004 during a parliamentary
debate).

GM: How much of a contribution are you making to the party while
you are domiciled outside the country?

RB: Being outside (the
country) obviously creates its problems, but there are also considerable
advantages. For one, I can operate without being harassed by Zimbabwe’s
mafia, otherwise known as Zanu PF.

It has given me the opportunity to
pass on what the people at grass roots level want the world to
know.

I have a very deep personal responsibility to the people of
Zimbabwe, many of whom I communicate with daily, both inside and outside the
party.

It has also meant I can raise resources for the party for the
elections and other projects, tasks that would have been more difficult from
inside Zimbabwe.

GM: The MDC has been slammed for failing to curb
corruption among its councillors and senior officials.

What impact
does this corrupt party image have on the performance of the party in
forthcoming elections?

RB: There have been problems with corruption in
the party. Any intelligent person can see that.

The councillors in
Mutare are one example. I am not surprised because Zanu PF has a long
history of passing the HIV of graft on to those whom they deal with. Those
they don’t kill, they will try to corrupt.

However, its rubbish that MDC
are already as corrupt as Zanu PF. And the most important issue is this:
what are we going to do about it? There will always be rotten apples — it’s
human nature and you get crooks in every country, in all walks of life — but
we need to create a culture of intolerance towards such people and such
practices. No politicians can be above or beyond reproach.

We must
also look to create truly independent institutions that will have the power
to root out corruption wherever it is.

So, internally, the party must
renew its commitment to create the right culture and, externally, it must
look to create independent bodies free from political interference that will
deal ruthlessly with problems.

At the end of the day, these are criminal
matters and I hope that the police and other anti-corruption bodies will be
restored to their rightful place in Zimbabwe.

Zanu PF has stripped
our judiciary and law enforcement agencies of their integrity but we need to
reverse this.

GM: The MDC is accused of not having done enough to expose
corruption, and instead, some key party members are accused of accumulating
wealth over a short period of time. Isn’t it in the best interests of the
party, in the eyes of the electorate, to have a lifestyle audit?

RB:
In the longer term, measures such as lifestyle audits conducted by
independent international auditing firms will be absolutely
critical.

They should be paired with other measures like anti-corruption
hotlines and so on. Still, there are challenges in the short term that make
full transparency a problem — for example, many party members are wary of
exposing all their assets to Zanu PF because this is an invitation to have
them stolen.

But I think that an aggressive audit should be done
immediately should the MDC take power.

This is not an option but an
absolutely essential measure. In the meantime, a confidential internal audit
should be conducted by independent auditors and anything that cannot be
explained should be tabled in the Standing Committee and then
publicly.

GM: It has been said but dismissed, that Tsvangirai is facing a
rebellion if he does not win the next elections yet he remains
popular.

Why would some of your colleagues even think of such a plan
instead of galvanising the party for electoral victory?

RB:
Regardless of what polls or so-called “experts” say, I don’t think there’s
any chance of MDC losing a free and fair election. Why would the majority of
Zimbabweans vote for a party of drunken geriatrics that has run the country
into the ground? Rather, the question is what will happen if terror and
vote-rigging result in a Zanu “win”?

And what will happen if MDC wins
but the Joint Operations Command (Joc) continue their coup and refuse to
step down?

These are the real questions on the lips of Zimbabweans. In
that situation, the MDC will face some very tough problems that go well
beyond whether Morgan or myself or any other MDC leader stays in
position.

GM: How much suffering have you had for being a Tsvangirai-led
MDC senior official?

RB: I have suffered, of course — and most of
these things are well-documented (see http://freezimbabwe.com/resources.php).
But this is what happens in a dictatorship and many Zimbabweans have
suffered much more than me.

Many have died; others have seen their
families slaughtered. The only way we are going to have a chance of a normal
life is to get rid of Zanu PF. While those people have the fingers of their
right hand on the triggers and fingers of their left in the till we will
never see real rusununguko. Let’s not forget that.

Anyone who says
otherwise is sticking their head in the sand.

GM: Will you ever
recover?

RB: I am fine. I am strong and I am fighting on. It is normal,
everyday (it is) Zimbabweans who give me strength, who encourage me daily,
and I am pressing on for them. My re-election at congress is a request from
the people that I keep fighting — that I keep fighting for ordinary
Zimbabweans, keep fighting for the principles that drove the formation of
the MDC in 1999, and I take those responsibilities very seriously.

I
also have a loving family and a loving God, so I am far from being
down-and-out.

GM: What’s next for you? Do you intend to participate
in next elections, how and where?

RB: Some of those decisions will
have to be weighed further down the track. I will do what is strategic and
what is in the best interests of the people.

GM: Lastly, what has your
party not done which it should have done, to make sure that Mugabe is forced
to institute sweeping reforms as spelt out and agreed in the GPA?

RB:
There is always more that could have been done. It is unfortunate that
things like Posa are still on the statute books. This is based on repressive
legislation that is more than 40 years old. But the main problem is Zanu PF
itself.

It is foolish to think any little pieces of paper will stop
them from doing what they want.

No amount of changes to the
constitution or the law will stop Zanu PF from being Zanu
PF.

Root-and-branch surgery is required.

The MDC was formed to
bring about democratic change and it is only when a democratic government
takes power that life will change for the better in Zimbabwe.